OPML Editor support: Notes for Version 0.2

Notes for Version 0.2

Posted by Dave Winer, 6/6/05 at 9:32:24 AM.

Here's the version 0.2 build of the OPML editor. These notes are for the current team of testers, it's important that you read these notes carefully, and please verify that the software behaves exactly as the notes say it should.

0. If at any point there's unexpected behavior, please report the problem on the opmlsupport mail list, in this form: 1. This is what I did. 2. This is what I expected. 3. This is what actually happened.

1. Download the zip file and decompress it. This should result in a folder named OPML. Copy it to your Program Files folder. It doesn't have an installer (but it will in a subsequent build).

2. Open the folder and launch opml.exe. It should present a dialog that looks like this. (Screen shot.)

3. Enter your name, mail address, password, and the name of a directory on the server to contain your public outlines. If you were to enter "george" here your files would be stored at http://hosting.opml.org/george/.

Note: If you've already registered using a previous version of the software, you may enter the same name, email address, password and subdomain as before, and the server will log you in instead of creating a new identity.

4. Click the Register button. After a short delay the dialog should disappear. If there was a problem registering, a dialog with an error message will display.

Note: If you're required to use a proxy server, Step 4 probably won't work. Instead, click on Cancel, then choose Proxy setttings from the OPML.Org menu, enter the magic proxy bits your sysadmin gave you, and then choose the Register command.

5. Get the latest updates in the beta process by choosing the Refresh Code command from the DotOpml sub-menu of the Tools menu.

6. Choose the New command from the File menu. This should create a new outline window. Type: Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. Save. Navigate to My Documents, then OPML, then www, and save the file as test.opml. Now switch over to your web browser, and enter the url of the file, and see if it opens.

Note: You can always get the URL by: 1. Bring the outline to the front. 2. Choose Get Outline URL from the OPML.Org menu. 3. The URL is displayed in a dialog. If you click on the Copy button it's copied to the clipboard. (You may have to wait 10 or 15 seconds after saving the first time get the URL.)

7. At this point you should see the connection between the contents of your www folder and the contents of your folder on hosting.opml.org. Until the next beta, this is how you should use the software, once everyone is successfully publishing outlines this way, we'll start adding some more features. Please report your progress on the mail list. Good luck!